Interstitial Cystitis

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a urinary bladder disease of unknown cause characterised by urinary frequency, urgency, pressure and/or pain in the bladder and/or pelvis. Pain typically increases as the bladder fills and reduces after voiding. However some patients report pain with urination, often in the urethra. Patients may also experience nocturia, pelvic floor dysfunction and tension, pain with sexual intercourse, discomfort and difficulty driving, travelling or working. Research has determined that the quality of life of IC patients is equivalent to end stage renal failure.

It is not unusual for patients to have been misdiagnosed with a variety of other conditions, including: overactive bladder, urethritis, urethral syndrome, trigonitis, prostatitis and other generic terms used to describe frequency/urgency symptoms in the urinary tract.

IC affects men and women of all cultures, socioeconomics and ages. Although the disease previously was believed to be a condition of menopausal women, growing numbers of men and women are being diagnosed in their twenties and younger. IC is not a rare condition ,however IC is more common in females then in men. Early research suggested that IC prevalence ranged from 1 in 100,000 to 5.1 in 1,000 of the general population.

...More at Wikipedia  

Related Links:

• Interstitial Cystitis Association
• US National Library of Medicine
• Mayo Clinic

Recent Hope Cube Blog Entries For Interstitial Cystitis